It was in the following year that one of Siyyid Kazim's students set out for Shiraz, Persia, in his quest to find the Promised One. In that city, in the year 1844, this student and many others met a Person who announced that He was the One they were seeking. He took the title 'the Bab', meaning 'the Gate', and appointed disciples to help spread His teachings. (15:1)

For a period of six years the Bab preached a new Revelation from God. The Bab claimed to be an independent Prophet whose mission was to renew the eternal Faith of God and to herald a still greater Messenger to come. To a great extent, the Bab's teachings suggested that His mission was similar to that of John the Baptist, who prepared people for the imminent appearance of Christ. The Bab's teachings quickly spread throughout the land, gaining thousands of supporters. But the orthodox Muslim clergy, as well as the civil authorities, clearly saw the Bab as a threat. His teachings were regarded as heretical, and He was arrested. (15:2)

Only three years after His declaration, the Bab was imprisoned for espousing and preaching His beliefs. He remained a prisoner for the last three years of His ministry. During this time, His followers came under siege from the government and clergy. Thousands died, including many of His disciples, foremost of whom was Quddus. (15:3)

It was not long before many came to believe that the Messenger the Bab had spoken of and alluded to so frequently was Baha'u'llah, whose name means 'the glory of God'. Baha'u'llah openly supported the Cause of His predecessor the Bab, and during the severe persecutions of the years following the Bab's execution He was imprisoned and later exiled. The period of this first imprisonment in Tehran marks the beginning of Baha'u'llah's active ministry, but it was only after several years of withdrawal to the mountains of Kurdistan that He formally announce that He was the one whose advent the Bab had anticipated. In the course of His ministry He was exiled repeatedly and was eventually imprisoned in the city of 'Akka, (15:4)

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